The stranger was surprised by the question. He turned his head for a second, just enough to get a proper look at Damian in the rearview mirror. The amber glow in his eyes caught the dashboard light for a brief moment, making Damian's breath catch. The man studied him with a mix of curiosity and caution, as if he was trying to decide whether Damian was playing dumb or genuinely clueless.
"Are you not?" the stranger asked, voice low and measured, like he was testing the waters.
Damian stopped.
He thought about saying yes, that he was, that in his past life he had been something more, something powerful, something that had once ruled. But the words died in his throat. He wasn't sure the stranger would believe his story. How could he? It sounded insane even to himself. A past life as an Alpha King? Reborn into this ordinary body? It was the kind of thing that belonged in stories, not in a moving car with an unconscious Zayn and a stranger with glowing eyes.
